Used to love them when I was into Punk and HC.Probably the reason why I wasn't surprised when I found out there had been a reggae-punk connection in England at the end of the 70's.Do they still exist as a band?

Bad Brains are legends from the earliest days of the Washington DC punk scene. Their reggae was always felt lyrically, but not always musically. Live they were phenomenal and the reggae worked much better as an antidote for the hardcore. Their punk songs were generally much better than the reggae, and there are several really good live LPs worth checking out if you like the band.

They keep disappearing and resurfacing, occasionally with something exciting. Perhaps inspired by spiritual brothers Fishbone's film called 'Everyday Sunshine', they are currently releasing a documentary film which looks very promising. But several of the later albums that I have heard are very heavy metal and have been for some years. Persistent rumours abound about singer HR's health, but like I said, they've never really gone away as a band.

I saw them play a dozen times or so in the early 80's. To this day, they are the greatest live band I have ever seen. However, the singer's mental health issues have hurt this band greatly. I last saw them about 10 years ago and they were a shell of their greatness because of him.

i for one never understood what anyone ever saw in these guys. i went to at least a couple of performances from them and left after no more than a half hour. their reggae wasnt reggae and they sure arent rastafarians. that lead singer has got some issues but aside from that their music just sounded like trash to me. one of those outfits those with white skin and punk sensibilities can get into and then claim they like "reggae". didnt really see anything reggae about it at all: mostly noise, very loud and disorganized noise, to my ears anyway.

Not my first choice when it comes to this sort of punk rock, although they were a MASSIVE influence on so many bands since the early '80's. If its this sort of punk you enjoy, check Black Flag, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Youth of Today, Vision, NOFX (up to about 1996, they sucked balls after this), blah blah blah.

They were much much ahead of their time, extremely skilled musicians, if you hear noise in their music, well...Not so keen on their reggae, though, which a find a little plodding and formulaic, but the rest is just... legendary.When you were a kid in the late 70's, heard their Pay to Cum and ended up discovering that this blazing tune was played by 4 black guys, wow, let me tell you that you were in for a real culture shock ! Though he sported the same sort of haircut, Marley in those days was probably good enough for hippy late-comers in comparison ! (seen through the eyes of a teenager).As someone also mentioned them, Fishbone were also much ahead of their time. I saw them live the other day and,though they no longer pack the same wallop as they used to in the 80's, they have remained an outstanding group who do teach whoever is trendy at the moment quite a few lessons. It was funny to hear their keyboard player toasting in a reggae style and including snippets of Half Pint's Greetings in one of their more recent tunes.

+1 for Fishbone lankou. Saw them in London and had pretty much the same kind of reaction. Still a very impressive live show, - Norwood on bass in particular. I used to go see them loads in the mid-late 80s. Fishbone's ska wasn't too authentic either, but that was never a problem because it worked in the Fishbone universe of twisted rock, funk, punk, circus music and ska.

Kind of the same for Bad Brains. Their reggae was never designed for the Jamaican sound systems, but it usually worked in the context of their live show.